Play four: Making data interoperable

Purpose of this play

As a project leader, you will need to organise health data in ways that encourage reuse and sharing. This play:

• explains concepts such as interoperability

• sets out the value of using standards when organising data

• explains what techniques can be employed to adapt datasets so they can be used across different systems and be compared with other data assets.

Who should read this play

• Non-technical leaders who are working on a health project that will collect, use or share data from multiple sources.

• Health system leaders who want to acquire or share data with others, or aggregate data across the various systems they manage.

• Health project partners who are creating new datasets or who want to acquire, combine or share datasets from others.

• Data managers and health system leaders who need to set up new data assets or ensure quality data is being collected and stored in a way that enables reuse and sharing.

When to use this play

• When collecting new data that needs to be interoperable with other data assets.

• When building new partnerships that are likely to rely on data exchange (for example for research and innovation).

• When seeking to create innovative data products that combine data assets from multiple sources.

Please note that this guidance is not legal advice and if you are uncertain, you should seek support from a legal professional.